SEO Mistakes You’re Probably Making
In an age of instant gratification, a lot of consumers aren’t scrolling past the first page of Google to find the product or service that they need. That’s why search engine optimization (SEO) is essential for your business and website. However, if you’ve started optimizing your site for search engines and you’re not getting good enough results, don’t worry. All you need to do is take a look at your strategy and see what holes and problems need to be fixed. Here are five SEO mistakes that you should be on the lookout for.
1. Not Monitoring Your Results
SEO is not a RonCo rotisserie oven – you can’t just “set it and forget it.” It’s important to regularly check in and see how your website is performing. There are a number of options for tools that you can use to monitor your SEO analytics but, no matter how you choose to monitor these states, the important thing is that you keep an eye on your data and use the information to make adjustments going forward.
2. Using the Wrong Keywords for You
Keywords are not one-size-fits-all. There are a variety of strategies when it comes to choosing your keywords and, depending on the type of results that you want, the best methods will vary. Companies with larger keyword budgets might choose extremely popular keywords and terms and try to outbid everyone else via platforms like Google Adwords. For companies with a more modest budget, you will be better off choosing keywords and phrases that are more specific to your product and the type of customers you’re trying to attract. Not only will you save money, but you will also attract customers who are a better fit for your product. You might not generate as much traffic but you will get more conversions.
3. Ignoring Your Geographic Range
Location is an important factor when choosing your keywords. If you are a national company that does business in all 50 states, it makes sense to use keywords that apply to a large portion of the country. But if your business is something local, like a restaurant, it doesn’t make sense to market to people (and compete with businesses from) thousands of miles away. No matter how good your double stuffed bacon burger is, most people won’t be booking a flight to come try it. If your customer base is local, make sure to tailor your keywords to reflect this.
4. Not Incorporating Quality, Original Content
There was once a time when websites would have pages and pages dedicated to keyword stuffing (which is repeating keywords and phrases over and over again to gain search engine mojo). Those days have long since passed. Instead of cramming keywords onto a page no one will ever see, it’s infinitely more effective to create quality, original content. Write engaging website copy, post a biweekly blog, or create videos that will inform and educate consumers about your business and products. Not only will this appease the search engine crawlers, but it will also establish your website as a source of credible information.
5. Skipping Spring Cleaning
Make sure to give your website a good cleaning from time to time. Just like stars, sometimes websites die and, if your site has a link to these dead pages, it will hurt your SEO. Make sure to periodically check your page for outdated or dead links. You should also liven up your website copy occasionally to incorporate new, engaging keywords that can help attract more consumers to your site.
They say you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. Most people forget the second and much more relevant part of that old saying: You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink – but it’s 100% guaranteed that horse won’t be able to drink the water if it’s located on the 20th page of a search engine because the website has dead links, is stuffed with bad keywords, and doesn’t have any interesting or unique content. It’s a mouthful, but it’s just as applicable today as it was in the wild, wild west.